A lady in a certain village talks to a tree lovingly, buys toys for it and even dances in front of it. What's wrong with her? Read on.

A lady in a certain village talks to a tree lovingly, buys toys for it and even dances in front of it. What’s wrong with her? Read on.

The cloudy weather turns sunny all of a sudden. The panic-struck Utari abruptly gets up from a gathering and starts running towards her home. She picks up a bucket quickly, fills it with water and pours the water on a tree. She then goes on to splash some more water on the leaves. When she is done, her husband enters the scene in a similar condition. The lady smiles at him.

She is then seen shooing away the cattle that come near the tree and then breaks into a dance cheerfully.

In another shot, the lady is seen buying some handicrafts, which she turns in a toy of sorts. She gifts it to the tree. All this while her husband and family observes her doing these things to her beloved tree. Soon, she’s chatting with the tree. In another shot, her husband is seen counselling her.

Late in the night, when Utari is sitting next to the tree, her husband reminds her that she needs to wake up early the next day, since it’s their SON’S BIRTHDAY and that he would turn 5.

It’s the husband’s time to speak to the tree. “Sleep well my son,” he tells the tree.

Wondering what’s wrong with the couple?

This short film made by Lifebuoy is actually about a village in Utari where there is a tradition of marking a tree when a child is born. Everyday nearly 5,000 mothers like Utari lose their children before they reach the age of 5 to infections like diarrhoea and pneumonia. All that remains is the tree.

This short film is made to promote Lifebuoy’s campaign aiming to help children reach the age of 5.